We all joke about living in the "the Dartmouth bubble" in which all sorts of social norms about things like dating and drinking become deeply skewed. The way we speak is clearly no exception. The geographic isolation of campus lends itself to the creation of our own slang the abnormality of which we only notice when friends come to visit and only understand half of the words in any given conversation.
Remember those kids who started throwing around Dartspeak the moment orientation began? They talked about booting and rallying after getting golden shrubbed and then looked around eagerly to see if anyone noticed. Other kids cautiously ease into their use of rage, facetime, self-call and flitz; their eventual use is unavoidable.
Where does the slang of Dartmouth come from, though? There are compilations of popular Dartspeak terms dating all the way back to 1856, though these are mainly to guide incoming freshmen. These provide the dates behind certain words, but not the background.
For instance, according to Charles May '59, who wrote his thesis entitled "The Language of Dartmouth," the word boot appears to have come to campus in 1959, although the origin is unknown. As for booting's better half, rallying, May's thesis does reference the word, dating it back at least to 1969, but he doesn't use it in quite the same way that we do now.
Words relating to the physical make-up of the campus can fall out of favor as suddenly as construction happens. The patch of grass in front of Wilder used to be called "the beach," as it was a popular tanning spot for students. Once Beverly Pepper's statue was placed on that grass, there was no longer room for lounging and the lawn lost its name.
Renovations also changed the Dartmouth lexicon. When Thayer contained "Full Fare," the all-you-can-eat dining hall, freshmen quickly gained their "Thayer layer," preparing them for the winter. The creation of Homeplate, however, rendered the term a bit obsolete. Grilled salmon just doesn't add inches to the gut in the same way.
The construction of Berry library eliminated the "observe corridor" of the basement of Baker library. Now, the reserves are no place to study if you're looking to get some facetime.
Other words leave our language for inexplicable reasons. Maybe it's due to general changes in American culture, or maybe they don't roll off the tongue the way they use to. Whatever it is, we're still Dartmouth and we can't let the old traditions die. So here is a list of 20 now forgotten Dartmouth slang words, and I've got to get back to tooling for my midterms. I don't want to fry, man. Beast (noun, 2002): Cheap, nutritious, socially-inspiring, ecologically-sound nectar of the gods -- found flowing freely from the multitude of kegs located in any fraternity.
Chaw (noun, 1856): A deception or a trick. "To say, its all gum,' or a regular chaw,' is the same thing.
Doom Court (proper noun, 1994): A fine eating establishment. Otherwise known as Food Court. Beware of the late-night nachos!
Eccy (noun, 1994): For unknown reasons, the slang term for the economics department.
Frying (verb, 1980): failing, or falling behind, in a course.
Glomm (verb, 1980): To make out, to the level which is possible on a couch in a room which has other people in it.
Joe (noun, 1994): The result of too much beast, EBAs pizza or trips to Full Fare.
Mickey mouse (adjective, 1968): Academic busywork, or anything simple-minded.
Mung (noun, 2000): Found covering every fraternity basement floor. A combination of beer, boot and other fun things. Tends to stick to shoes and smells for days.
Observe Corridor (proper noun, 1996): The lower level of Baker Library includes the long "Reserve Corridor" where students can check out materials placed on reserve and, supposedly, study. However, a little more scoping and chatting gets accomplished than any amount of tooling.
'shmenu (noun, 2002): The "Green Book" cataloguing the photographs and home addresses of the freshman class. The scammer's bible allows you to scope without leaving your room.
Punt (verb, 1980): To waste or fritter away the time that one could use to study on such pursuits as Frisbee, brew and attending Film Society features. One is usually psyched to punt.
Take pipe (verb, 1968): To be doing badly (in a course). Also, take gas. Ex. "Bill is taking gas in Math 27."
Ted (noun, 1994): A nerd. What else can you say? Someone who tools at midnight.
Thayer layer (noun, 1995): Dartmouth's version of the freshman fifteen, resulting from too much time spent up in Topside with budds Ben and Jerry
Tool (verb, 1998): To study with great exuberance. "I have a quiz tomorrow. It appears I must tool all night long. Pretty grim, eh?
Tweed bag (noun, 1968): A hyper Ivy League type, who wears a cool uni.
Uni (noun, 1980): Clipped form of uniform; an outrageous costume.
